Sandburg excels at Berman; Libertyville's Mitchell wins at 106

With six first-place finishers, top-ranked Sandburg was the class of the huge 33-team field Wednesday afternoon at the 61st Annual Berman Holiday Wrestling Classic in Palatine.

The Eagles rolled to the championship with 313 points while Lyons Township was a distant second with 194.

Warren was the top finishing Lake County area squad with a 12th-place score of 91 points as the Blue Devils were able to get five wrestlers into the final round.

Mundelein had a solid showing with a 15th-place score of 71 points while Libertyville (67.5 points) and 106-pound champion Alex Mitchell (19-1) were not far behind the Mustangs in 18th place. Lakes wound up with two individuals in the final round.

Warren's strong effort was led by third-place finisher Zach Khoury (18-2), who pinned Downers Grove North junior Sky Arend in 1:27 to close out his two-day tournament with a 4-1 record.

Khoury's only loss of the tournament was against eventual champion Dylan Ervin of Metea Valley in the semifinals.

"I'm happy with the way I wrestled for most of the tournament, and I think I did a good job of staying composed and wrestling hard," said Khoury, who is ranked seventh in Class 3A. "I'm really proud of the guys, it's a very tough tournament and it just really gives you good varsity experience."

Besides Khoury's third-place showing, Warren also got a fourth-place finish from junior Grant Zamin (17-6), who dropped a tough 3-1 decision to Richmond-Burton's Gavin Sutton (21-1) at 138.

Then in an all-North Suburban Conference matchup for fifth place at 170, Warren junior Andrew Demos (18-4) posted a 4-3 decision over Lakes senior Jared Smith after Smith had recorded a first-period pin over Demos Tuesday in the quarterfinals.

The Blue Devils also got an eighth-place finish from 182-pound senior Brandon Escamilla, who had to drop out of his final match of the tourney due to illness, and an eighth-place finish from sophomore J.T. VanderVere at 113.

"I'm really impressed with the final round we had and Zach's only loss was to the guy who won the tournament," said first-year Warren coach Jake Jobst. "Demos wrestled his style, he wrestled his match, and it was good to see him get one back on that kid (Smith)."

The Blue Devils still have a very tough road ahead of them with a dual meet against rival squad Stevenson coming up in mid-January.

"It was a good improvement from last year, and we had a couple of guys who went 0-2 here last year who placed in this tournament," added Jobst. "It's tougher than the sectional tournament, there are 32 teams here, and Sandburg is nationally ranked and ranked No. 1 in the state."

Libertyville was without the services of freshman standout Michael Gunther (120/126), but Mitchell, a junior, continued to shine for the Wildcats by winning this very prestigious tourney.

Mitchell put the finishing touches on his great performance by capturing a 7-2 decision over Glenbard East junior Nick Donovan for the 106-pound crown.

Libertyville coach Dale Eggert's young team also got an eighth-place finish from 126-pound junior Drew Onufer, who dropped a tough 5-3 decision to Oswego's Blake Huffmon.

"I had my ups and downs, but it feels pretty good to win this tournament and now I know what I'm capable of doing," said Mitchell. "I want to get a medal at state, and I want to keep doing what I'm doing right now and wrestle well."

Mundelein's troops were led by 120-pound runner-up Alec Riportella (19-3), who fell to Sandburg's Kevin Stearns (22-0) 7-1 in the finals.

The Mustangs also got a fifth-place finish from sophomore standout Dane Durlacher (21-2), who recorded a technical fall over fourth-ranked Class 2A wrestler Chris Kennedy of Lincoln-Way West. 195-pounder Cesar Obispo did not compete for Mundelein.

"Stearns is ranked third in the state, he's undefeated, and it was 0-0 going into the second period," said Mundelein coach Mark Stewart. "After he (Durlacher) lost in the semifinals I think it took the wind out of his sails. But he looked great in the fifth-place match."

Lakes junior Xavian Girona (13-3) placed seventh at 152 with a narrow 5-4 decision over Rock Island's Dalton Lawver. Lakes senior Max Hill (182) is out with a broken ankle, but he is expected back in the lineup soon. Hill and Smith both reached state for the Eagles last season.

"Yesterday he (Smith) had confidence, but when you come back after being out for a month and a half you have to get the wrestling mentality back," said Lakes coach Mark Stave. "Xavian is doing some good things. He beat a kid who is ranked fifth in the state in 2A, and he beat the No. 1 seed in the tournament so he is right where he needs to be."

The Berman tourney is the longest running regular-season tourney in the state of Illinois.